1,001 VIEWS!

What?!?! Really?!?! I'm not sure if the punctuation marks are in the correct order, but still, this is exciting! I logged in this morning to post really quick about how yesterday went and my new morning routine. I see that my blog has reached 1,001 views! That is really awesome! A trus sense of the word "awe." I am just a guy from Montana. I never would have thought that I'd be in this situation. I have a mentor/coach. I have a support system. Now, I have maybe some followers that enjoy reading my story. Granted, they all don't know "all" of my story. It is complex. Believe me. But it makes me think, celebration!!! Queue the music "Celebration" by Kool and The Gang.

  It does immediately make me throw up a caution flag though. I used to do that. Remember? I'd hit a buffet! I could think of a couple that would hit my spot right now! A healthy choice? No. I've got to take action and find a different way to celebrate. My homework yesterday was a fitness knowledge test. Did I do it? Yes. I felt myself in a zone. I answered everything honestly. If I didn't know, I said I didn't know. If I saw fault, I took the credit for knowing I didn't try at some things. I can credit some of this to not having the parents that were the "do gooders" for themselves or us kids

My dad worked his butt off. My mom was the most loving mother and accepting of everyone, regardless of their path. I remember as a kid, she spent a lot of time with my sisters. I don't think is was favoritism by any means. Now that I am an adult, I think she just had motherly intuition that she knew they needed more attention. One of my sisters in particular would have to sit with my mother on Saturdays for 3 hours in the morning and do extra school work that my mom made up. Simply because she needed some repetition and extra attention that she wouldn't get in a classroom of 30 kids. My other sister, at the time there were just 4 kids, 2 boy 2 girls, she was growing into a young lady, or pre-teen as they are called these days. Boyfriends, cigarettes, etc... Like I've told my wife, mom took care of the cooking and feelings for the kids, dad took care of the work and the maintenance of the house. They were not the best at communicating. I've found that I've learned what I wanted from life, by watching my parents. So, they were good parents indeed. Our needs were met. But a big family of 6 kids, where the youngest was 2 when mom passed and 5 when dad passed, being a young adult, you stil need guidence from a mentor/role model to grab you by your shirt and get in your face and say, "Don't do that! You're making a very difficult path for you life later. Health IS important!"

But, I can tell you, would my parents have been that? Who knows? So back to my fitness knowledge, most of it has come from Health teachers in HS and college, from friends and family that like to be active, and sadly, what I retain from fitness magazines and ESPN interviews.

The 25-day-challenge: going well. Today is a day off. I got a workout in yesterday. 25 squats in the a.m. and p.m. 25 push-ups (girly). 25 crunches. My belly is too big right now to do a real sit-up. So we'll get there. 32 oz of cold water this morning 30 min before eating. Tested my blood too. This morning has been successful! Let's see what the rest of the day brings.